Arizona police have come under fire after a video was released showing officers drawing their guns on a young family and threatening to shoot a pregnant mother after her 4-year-old daughter took a doll from a store, CNN reported.
The woman, who was with her partner and two children at the time, had a gun pointed at her as an officer threatened to shoot her.
Last month, Iesha Harper and her fiancee, Dravon Ames, took their daughters to a local Family Dollar store.
They later left the store but unbeknownst to the parents, one of their daughters had managed to walk out with a toy doll that was unpaid for.
After the couple pulled up to a nearby apartment complex to drop their children off at their babysitter’s home, a cop approached their vehicle and began banging on the window.
After the couple pulled up to a nearby apartment complex to drop their children off at their babysitter’s home, a cop approached their vehicle and began banging on the window.
According to the couple, the cop was acting aggressively and threatening to kill the family.
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“Our hands are up, we’re just trying not to get shot, trying to stay calm,” Ames told CNN. “He had a gun drawn.”
“Our hands are up, we’re just trying not to get shot, trying to stay calm,” Ames told CNN. “He had a gun drawn.”
The couple said there were no lights or sirens, and the man didn’t identify himself as being a police officer.
A bystander captured a video of the entire incident, showing the parents being aggressively arrested in the parking lot.
The Phoenix Police Department shared the video to their Facebook page after being made aware of it on June 11.
In the blurred video, an officer can be seen handcuffing Ames against a police cruiser, kicking the father multiple times and yelling, “When I tell you to do something, you [expletive] do it.”
In the blurred video, an officer can be seen handcuffing Ames against a police cruiser, kicking the father multiple times and yelling, “When I tell you to do something, you [expletive] do it.”
The same video shows the moment when Harper, who was five months pregnant at the time, had a gun drawn on her.
An officer can be seen pointing his gun inside the passenger side window of the family’s vehicle, where Harper was sitting, and demanding she get out of the car.
An officer can be seen pointing his gun inside the passenger side window of the family’s vehicle, where Harper was sitting, and demanding she get out of the car. She does so, with one of her children in her arms and the other at her side.
The arresting officer attempts to get her to put her hands up but she refuses to put her baby down, insisting the little girl can’t walk and that the pavement is too hot.
The arresting officer attempts to get her to put her hands up but she refuses to put her baby down, insisting the little girl can’t walk and that the pavement is too hot.
At this point, the officer grabs for the child’s arm and yanks, attempting to pull her from her mother’s arms, but Harper resists.
She later handed off her children to a bystander, at which point she said she was handcuffed and thrown face-first against the side of a police vehicle.
She later handed off her children to a bystander, at which point she said she was handcuffed and thrown face-first against the side of a police vehicle.
“I really thought he was gonna shoot me in front of the kids,” Harper told CNN, adding that she gave her child to a “complete stranger because I didn’t trust the police to have her.”
Watch the video of the encounter below.
Harper and Ames say their children have been left “traumatized” by the incident and watching their parents be arrested.
Their four-year-old daughter has been having nightmares and has been wetting the bed, the couple said. Their other daughter, who is one year old, suffered “dead arm” after the officer tried to yank her away from her mother.
Ames said the events of that day made him feel helpless and terrified.
“I’m supposed to protect my family, I’m cuffed up … I’m hearing my daughter screaming, my fiancée being handled,” he said. “It broke me down so much.”
The family have now filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Phoenix over the incident.
The couple are seeking $2.5 million for each family member.
“No threat, no resistance,” Tom Horne, an attorney representing the family, said of the event at a press conference . “It was completely unjustified.”
He added, “We’re talking about a little doll that’s worth maybe $5 and the horrors that came from the overreaction to that.”
He added, “We’re talking about a little doll that’s worth maybe $5 and the horrors that came from the overreaction to that.”
Authorities have said the incident is now under investigation.
“The Phoenix Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and for this reason, this incident is currently being investigated by the Professional Standards Bureau,” the department said.
“The Phoenix Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and for this reason, this incident is currently being investigated by the Professional Standards Bureau,” the department said.
Police have reportedly claimed there were more stolen items found inside the car than just the doll the toddler took from the store.
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said she was “disturbed by the language and the actions of our officer.”
In a video posted to the department’s Facebook page, she said she began an “immediately internal investigation” after learning of the incident.
“I assure you that this incident is not representative of the majority of Phoenix police officers who serve this city,” she said. “I wish investigations could be handled instantly, but each one takes time and deserves the due diligence before we can discuss specific details.”
h/t: CNN
